Monster Mash, the Sequel

Remember our last monster themed party post? Well here's the sequel. 

Jessica decided to throw a monster themed birthday party for her son's first birthday and sent us in her results. Here you go:

The Original Post

http://www.bakerella.com/pop-star-jennifer/

That cake really is just a piece of art. Definitely more patience than I possess goes into making this, but I love it all the same. Jessica tried it and...well, it didn't go so smooth.

The Pinstrosity

"I thought I was sooooo smart by tinting the cake green. When it came time for icing I used icing sugar, water and food colouring. I kept adding icing sugar to try to make it thicker but it didn't work. The "hair" just glombed on and looked disgusting. I was so ashamed at my failure I didn't take a picture until after the party. I even tried putting it in the freezer to harden the icing. It did nothing!" 

Luckily kids aren't too worried about how cake looks as long as it's cake and ends up in their stomachs (and on their faces of course).

On to the snacks. Jessica wanted to have these adorable little monster pudding cups.

The Original Post

http://blog.zui.com/2011/10/monster-pudding-cup/

Cute, no? At first I thought, "Wow! That's a lot of pudding!" but then I noticed the size of the sprinkles in the picture and realized that they are the little mini plastic cups.

The Pinstrosity

"3 packs of tinted pudding later. We have 1/3 filled 10 cups. I didn't use the chocolate on the inside, just sharpied the outside of the cup. Also it didn't say how much pudding to use. I guessed. Bad idea! These are not large cups but normal 6 oz cups. I even diluted the pudding by adding more milk. It was cute just not as cute as the picture."

The trick to these is definitely the mini cups and plenty of pudding, as Jessica found out.

On to her door. Jessica decided to get everyone in a Monster Mash mood from the moment they arrived by decorating her door. Here's her inspiration:

The Original Post

http://blog.passion-for-parties.com/2011/10/halloween-door-decor.html   Which came from this idea:

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2010/10/easy-diy-halloween-door-decor-ideas/

"I wanted to make sure ours wasn't "scary" because a bunch of babies and little kids were coming so ours turned out like:"

The Pinstrosity

"It looked super cheesey. Good thing the birthday boy won't remember this! Maybe I can photoshop him into a better first birthday."

Can I just say props for using duct tape. You're awesome. Seriously, I love it.

So the party didn't turn out as a Pinterest clone...but I love it. I think often we feel pressure to put on the perfectly cute party because isn't that what everyone else is doing? That's what it appears like from any time spent on Pinterest at least. But you do have to realize that Pinterest highlights the exceptions to life...most people pin their dreams and ideas...not reality.  

This is more like reality:

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2011/09/12/behind-the-awkwardness-make-a-wish/

So Jessica, don't worry about shopping in a better 1st birthday. I think you did fantastic, even if it didn't turn out quite as you hoped. It's not how beautiful and perfect things were that matter. Honestly, my favorite birthday that I remember from growing up was when my mom made me a dirt cake, but we didn't have birthday candles in the house so my dad lit a small stick on fire and stuck it in the cake. We thought it was hilarious and loved it. It was just my parents and siblings...no party hats, decorations, or anything...but it's memorable to me and I love it. I don't think anyone remembers their first birthday, but in his little head I'm sure he's thinking, "My mom is the coolest. Look at what she put together for me. She sure loves me." So laugh, chalk it up to experiences and fun memories and put it in the scrapbook. It's a fun memory.